Pneumatic separator



PNEUMATIC SBPARATOR.

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

D. GAR-SKADEN.

PNEUMATIG SEPAR'ATOB..

Patentd Jan. 6, 1885.

4 Sheets-Sheet' 3.

D. GAR-SKADEN.

PNEUMATIG SBPARATOR.

Paten-ted Jan. '6, 1885.

(NoModel.)

um i i rf: M11. W

www-m5551551.

4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

(No Model.)

D'. CAR-SKADBN. PNEUMATIG SEPARATOR. No. 310,251. Patened Jan. y6. 1885.

il'NrrEn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DELOS CAR-SKADEN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

PNEUMATIC SEPARATOR.

vff'ECJIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 310,251, dated January 6, 1885.

Applicaticn'led February 21, 1824. (Xo model.)

To @ZZ whom, t may concern.-

Be it known that I, DELos GAR-SKADEN, of Chicago, .in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pneumatic Separators; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to that class of ore separators or concentrators which operate upon pulverized quartz or earth by the action of a forcible current of air adjusted to lift the gangue and allow the denser mineral-bearing substance to fall through it by its greater speciiic gravity, and known as pneumatic separators.

rlhe invention relates more specifically to the construction of the passages for the air current, to devices for regulating the force of the air-current in different parts of the machine, to the feeding devices, and to several details of construction, as will be more fully set forth.

The invention consists in the novel matters set out in the following description and in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l illustrates in side elevation a series of machines arranged to work in unison by a single suction-fan or a single air-current, each machine being intended and adjusted to operate upon a particular size of pulverized material previously graded as to the dimensions of its particles. Fig. 2 is a side view illustrating the interior construction and particularly the interior division of such machines and the connection of one machine with the next of a series. Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the axis of the inclined one of the two cylinders employed in the feeding mechanism. Fig. 4. is an end view of the two connected feed-cylinders, with the headplate adjacent to the eye removed, revealing the interior thereof, and the end passage connecting them. Fig. 5 is a transverse section of the horizontal feedcylinder, showing more plainly the longitudinal slot in the bottom thereof, together with a sliding plate for adjusting the width of said slot. Fig. 6 is an end elevation of the machine at the head or feed end thereof. Fig. 7 is a top or plan view of the machine, with a central portion broken out; Fig. 8 is a fragmentary plan view of one form of device for Spraying the pulverized material as it descends from the slot of the horizontal feedcylinder into the upward air-current. Fig. 9 is a side view of one form of device for vibrating the longitudinally-reciprocating sprayingshelf shown in plan in Fig. S. Fig. 10 is a perspective view, showing devices for reciprocating the spraying-shelf.

A A represent the frame-beams, A the side housings, Az longitudinal sills, which are placed beneath the sides of the machine cr series of machines, and which sustain them in position to afford free admission of air beneath the ends of the machine or series of machines.

A3, Fig. 6, is the housing at the head or feed end of the machine, or of the first machine of a series, and Af, Fig. 2, is a removable top board or upper housing.

B, Fig. l, is a suction-fan communicating with the interior of the machine, or of the final machine of a series, by a fine, B.

A .complete apparat-us adapted for simultaneous operation upon dilferent size grades of pulverized material by a single air-current consists of a series of essentially similar machines placed end to end, as represented in Figs. l and 2. Each machine is, however, complete in itself with respect to its principal features of construction, and each has a separate feed apparatus. The construction of a machine when used separately, or at the head of a series, is shown in Fig. 2.

Referring to Fig. 2, the interior of the machine is seen to be vdivided by vertical transverse partial partitions, of which P and P3 depend from the top board, A, and are adapted to be raised and lowered through slots in said top, so as to be lengthened or shortened within the housing, as may be desired. The transverse partial partitions P, P2, and l?4Z project upwardly from the lower part of the machine, and are preferably stationary, and adapted to be upwardly lengthened by the provision of cleats p p, affixed to the side housing, between IOC which cleats strips p, of any desired width, quantity of material throughout the lateral exmay be let down upon the edges of said partitions for the purpose named. The partial partitions are intended to serve as deflectingboards, tc give direction to the air-current through the machine, and as their free ends project past each other to a considerable distance, as shown, they divide the machine interior into a series of connected vertical passages, and serve to give such air-current an alternately up and down course. The several vertical passages-thus formed are numbered l to 5 in Fig. 2 in their order from the head to the tail of the machine. The air is admitted at the lower end of passage l, and the current therefore is upward in said passage l, and also in passages 3 and 5, and is downward in passages 2 and 4. At the bottom of passage l is placed a transverse trough or hopper, C, formed of inclined boards P5 and PG. Similarlyinclined boards P5 and PG also form transverse hoppers C and Cl at the lower' ends of the connected passages 2 3 and 4 5. vertically-sliding boards PT afford adjustable inlet-passages between the several hoppers mentioned and the lower ends of the partitions P, P", and P1, for the admission of air from below the machine and through the side openings, a, in the housings A', the machine preferably having no other bottom than is formed by these hoppers. Between the end housings,A, and the adjacent hopper-board P5 is also located lan opening, D, provided with a similar vertical slide, PT. In the hoppers C, C', and G2 are located conveyers C, of the ordinary or any approved construction. (Sufficiently indicated in Fig. 2.) rlhese conveyers are driven by a longitudinal shaft, C, and beveled gear-wheels. (Shown at c.) The several lvertical passages l, 2, 3, and i are of the saine transverse dimensions; but the passage 5 is larger than those just mentioned, for the purpose of giving a less forcible current therein, and thereby insuring the deposit of all solid matters from the aircurrent in the final hopper, C, before said current leaves thc machine. The second and succceding machines of a series are provided with an air-inlet at the top to coincide with the outlet D, Fig. 2, of the preceding machine, and such following machines of a series have, therefore, an additional passage, 6, merely for the purpose of delivering the inlowing air through an opening, D, to the lower end of the passage l, as in the iirst machine of a series. A registered opening is also provided at P7 at the foot of said upward passage l of each succeeding machine of a series to supply additional air, if required, or to vary the force of the current in the different machines of a series, as will be further described. The crushed or pulverized material to be separated is delivered into'the passage l, and preferably at a point of said passage where the current is vertieally upward therein.

In order to utilize the full capacity of the machine, an object sought in the construction ofthe feeding devices is to deliver a uniform tent of the passage, and also to spray or distribute the material as evenly as possible throughout the entire sectional extent of the passage, whereby all parts of the air-current may be brought into service. Another advantage of thus spraying, dissipating, or distributing the particles of material to be operated upon as described is to, as far as possible, subject each particle of such material to the air-current free of contact with other particles, in order Ythat the .entire surface of such particle may be exposed to said air-current, and that the air may therefore act upon it with an effect due to the predetermined force ofthe air-current opposed by the specific gravity of the single particle alone.

As a desirable means for evenly feeding the material into the machine, two connected cylinders, E and E, are placed side by side transversely over the head of the machine, and provided with interior close-fitting worm-conveyers running in opposite directions. As best seen in Figs. 3 and 4, the cylinder E is horizontal and the cylinder E is inclined, one end of the latterl being higher and the other lower than the cylinder E. At each end of the cylinders is a passage, c, giving communication from one cylinder to the other. The shaft El of the conveyer in the cylinder E is provided with wings c opposite the passage c, which leads into the lower end of thc inclined cylinder E', and the shaft E of the latter cylinder is similarly provided with like wings c, opposite the similaipassage at the other end of saidY cylinders. The eonveycr-shafts are geared together, as shown at ci c, Figs. 3, 6, and 7, and the conveyer in the inclined cylinder Ev has movement in a direction adapted to carry the material therein from its lower to its upper end. The conveyers of a series of machines are driven by a longitudinal shaft, E", and bcveled gear wheels c", meshing with similar wheels'on the horizontal conveyer-shafts E. In the bottom of the horizontal cylinder E is a longitudinal slot, e5, which communicates through the top of the machine with the airpassage 1, adj acentto the wall A thereof. Said passage is adjustable as to its width by means of a slide, El, movably held by set-screws c, or otherwise. The material is fed into the horizontal cylinder E through any suitable spout connected with the opening el, Fig. 7, and in such quantity as to fully equal the delivering capacity of the slot c5 at all points thereof. This practically involves the initial supply ofmore-material than the slot will discharge. The surplus is thrown out of the cyl inder E into the lower end ofthe cylinder E/ through the adjacent passage e, whence it is carried back and delivered into the opposite end of the cylinder E by the conveyer of the cylinder E and the wings c thereon. A quantity of material will thus be continually making the circuit of the two connecting-cylinders, and the clogging of the cylinder E is thereby avoided, while the desired result of uniform IOO IIO

ISO

feed throughout the whole length ef the slot e5 is insured.

lllwo forms of devices are shown for spraying or dissipating the material thus supplied into the upward air-current of the passage No. l. At the right in Fig. 2, F is an inclined narrow shelf constructed ot' wire screen-eloth (see Figs. 8 and l0) of suitable fineness to arrest, practically, the entire body of material falling thereon, being attached at its inner margin and ends to a bar or rod, F', located adjacent to the wall A3 of the air-passage. Said rod has both alongitudinally!reciprocating and an oscillatory movement. The former or reciprocatingmovement is imparted to the rod by means of a rotating cam and opposing spring. The cam F2, Figs. 6 and l0, has its periphery corrugated,and,as herein shown, arranged to bear upon a part attached to the protruding end ofthe rod F', and operates to throw the rod and shelf inward, while the springf, or its equivalent device, is arranged to throw the rod oppositely or outward.

To afford free movement ot' the rod F', its outer end is pivotally connected to a vertically-arranged vibrating arm or support, F, the lower end of which is pivoted to the fraineA, and it is upon this vibra-ting support FG that the cam is in this instance shown to bear. The said arm FG is joined with the rod F by means of a support, F5, provided with two apertured flanges, through which the rod passes, a inevable button being adjustably secured upon said rod between the flanges of the support F3, as shown in Fig. l0. By this means the wear of the support from contact with the cam may be compensated,or any desired adjustment of the rod or ot' its movement may be effected. rllhe oscillatory motion of the rod and shelf is effected in one direction by means of a short arm, j", Figs. 8 andi), attached to the rod, and arranged in bearingr with an inclined stationary guide-block,f2, and in the opposite direction by its weight. Both these movements of the rod are very slight and very rapid, and the effect is to flirt the pulverulent stuff off the free edge of the shelf F in such manner as to dissipate and scatter the saine about equally throughout the entire width ot' the airpassage.

A second, and in some respects a preferable, form of scattering device is shown at the left in Fig. 2, or in the second machine there partially shown. rlhis consists of a small rapidly-rotating roller, F, arranged transverselyin the air-passage l, and desirably let partially into the wall A. rllhe material to be operated upon is guided to the upper surface ot' this roller F* fromA the slot e ofthe cylinder E by a board, af, and the said roller, by its rapid rotation in the direction indicated by the arrow, Fig. 2, throws and scatters the material into all parts ofthe air-passage.

The cams F2` for reciprocating the shelves F of a series of machines may be -mounted on a shaft,F3, supported at the side ofthe machines,

and the several rollers` Ft, if employed, may be run by belts and suitable pulleys from the conveyershafts of the superjacent cylinders E, as indicated in Fig. 3, and by dotted lines in Fig. 2, or otherwise. rlhe several longitudinal shafts, (3*, E, and F", may be belted together at one end of the machine, or they may be otherwise driven.

lVhichever or whatever scattering deviceis employed, it should, preferably, be placed far enough down in the air-passage l to deliver the material into the air-current at a point where the latter is substantially vertical and at full force. Then, as the said scattering device operates to deliver the material into the air-current in a practically-horizontal direction, or to simply placcthe particles thereof in the air-current, the said material meets and opposes the air-current with the force of its gravity only. The resulting condition or re-- lation of opposing forces on theV part of the air on the one hand and on the part of' the material to be separated on the other hand is found most favorable tothe separation of such material composed of particles of uniform dimensions but of' varying density. As a consequence a very complete separat-ion or concentr-ation is effected in the passage l and hopper or pocket C. In the downward air-passages 2 and 4,which lead to thehoppers C' and C2, on the other hand, the material acquires a momentum due to the forcible downward movement of the air which carries it in addition to the gravity of the said material itself, and this increased downward force of such material results in its being all deposited in said hoppers C and C, leaving the air free as it leaves the machine or enters the second machine of aseries at D'. lt is to more perfectly assure the precipitation of all solid matter from the aircurrent before the latter leaves the machine that the upward passage 5 is made of larger sectional dimensions than the preceding passages, as already stated, the effect of thus enlargi ng said passage obv iousl y being to weaken the force of the air-current through the saaie.

It is found in practice that in the construction and arrangement of the air-passages as shown and described nearly all the mineral is concentrated in the hopper or pocket C, a small percentage is deposited in the hopper C', and no appreciable amountis found in the hopper C2. By narrowing the passage 3 and the space below the depending partition Pf, and thus increasing the force of the upward air-current through said passage in', a greater portion of the gangue may be carried over into the hopper G2; but there will also be can ried over a greater percentage of mineral. While this modification will not be a departure from my invention, l prefer, as at present ad viscd, to preserve substantially the relative dimensions of the passages set forth, for the reason that when the deposit taken from the second hopper, C', is rich enough to reseparate, it is better to retain therein the largest IIO quantity of mineral, instead of carrying over a portion into the hopper C2, whose yield is never rich enough to repay further treat-nient.

The employment of a series of machines is well understood to be for the purpose of operating upon different size grades of material, one machine being devoted to one size and another to another size. I prefer to construct the passages in a machine nearer the fan narrower than the corresponding passages in the preceeding machine of a series, and to thus insure a marked increase in the force of the air-current in the several machines, proceeding from the head of theseries toward the fan. The coarser material will then be delivered to the machine nearer the fan, and the finest to the machine at the head of the series. rlhe various air-inlets and the several slides P7 afford means for regulating the relative force of the aircurrent in various parts of a machine or series as may be found desirable, and the provision of an air-inlet on each of two opposite sides of the upward air-duct l enables the current in said duct or passage to be made more nearly vertical and direct than it would be if the air were admitted at only one side thereof. lt is manifest that a series of small holes in the bottom of the feed cylinder or re ceptacle E would be the equivalent of the slot e5, shown and described. It is further obvious that other forms of conveyer may be employed in said receptacle E, if desired, and

. that except for the purpose of a return connection such as is herein shown the receptacle E and return-passage E need not be wholly inclosed, though the closed cylindric construction set forth in the drawings is in many respects preferable to others above suggested. The several Variations above referred to are all intended to be embraced in my invention. It is also to be understood that the novel construction of the separatingchamber-to wit, its division into two or more vertical air-passages constructed as showndoes not require the use of the particular feeding mechanism illustrated and described; and, also, on the other hand, that the said feed mechanism maybe employed with other than the particular construction of the airpassages. ln claiming 4 either in combination, therefore, I do not wish to be restricted to a particular form of the other.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination, with a separatingchamber and suitable feeding and air-suction mechanisms, of a series of variably-expansible partial partitions projecting alternate` ly from the top and bottom of the chamber, whereby the free ends of said partitions may be made to more or less proximate the wall opposite that from which they severally spring, substantially as described, and for the purposes set forth.

2. The combination, with exterior housings of the separating-chamber, of a series of partial vertical imperforate and variablyextensi ble partitions projecting alternately from the top and lower part of the chamber and dividing the latter into a series of connected vertical longitudinally-variable air-passages, hoppers forming the bottoms of the air passages, and air-inlet openings provided with slides or registers communicating with the lower ends of the air-passages, substantially as described.

The combination, with the exteriorhousings of the separating-chamber, of a series of vertical variable partitions affording a series of vertical air-passages connected with each other alternately at the top and bottom, an air-inlet at the lower end of the passage at the head of the machine, an air-outlet at the upper end of the passage at the tail of the machine, said last-mentioned passage being of larger transverse dimensions than the preceding ones, receptacles located at the bottoms of the air-passages, means for drawing air through the passages from the head to the tail of the machine, and suitable means for delivering material to be separated into the upward air-passage at the head of the machine, substantially as described.

4. In a dry-ore separator provided with a series of verti cal air-passages connected at the top and bottom, and in the initial passage of which series the air has an upward direction, the combination, with the said initial or first passage and a scattering device located therein, of a feed mechanism comprising a longitudinally-apertured receptacle, and a conveyer in said receptacle, whereby the material is ICU distributed with practical uniformity throughout the entire extent of the said air-passage, substantially as described.

5. The combinatiom-in'a dry-ore separator, with a Vertical air-passage and a scattering mechanism in said passage, of a feed device comprising a receptacle provided with a narrow longitudinal feed-aperature, and an outlet at one end for the surplus material, and a conveyer in said receptacle operating to carry the material therein toward the outlet, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

6. The combination, with an air-passage of a separator, of a receptacle provided with a longitudinal feed-aperture arranged to deliver into the air-passage, a second receptacle arranged side by side with the flrst and having interior communication therewith at both ends, and conveyers in the several receptacles operating in opposite directions, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

7. The combination, with an air-passage of a separator,ofa longitudinallyapertured feeding-receptacle arranged to deliver into the airpassage, a second and relatively-inclined receptacle having interior communication with the first at both ends, and oppositely-operat ing conveyers in theseveral receptacles, substantially as described, and for the purposes set forth.

8. The combination,'with the air-passage of a separator, of a longitudinally-apertured feeding-receptacle arranged to deliver into the airpassage, a second receptacle arranged side by side with the iirst, laterally-arranged passages connecting the ends of the receptacles, oppositely-operating spiral conveyers in the several receptacles, and wings, as e, upon the said conveyers opposite the outlet-openings of the receptacles, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

9. The combination, in a dry-ore separator, with an air-passage and a scattering device in said air-passage, of a receptacle provided with a longitudinal feed-aperture and an outlet at one end, a conveyer in the said receptacle, and an adjustable slide for controlling the downward passage of material through the said aperture, substantially as described.

10. The combination, with an air-passage of a dry-ore separator, of a rapidly-rotating roll located in said passage and at one side thereof, and a chute arranged to direct the falling material upon the top of said roll, whereby thclatter may operate to scatter said material in a substantially horizontal direction across said passage, substantially as described.

l1. In a series of separators, each having alternating` upward, and downward vertical air-passages continuously in communication throughout the series, the combination,with a machine provided with an elevated air-outlet at D, of an adjacent machine in the series having its inlet coincident with the said outlet, and a downward passage, 6, leading from said inlet, and delivering the ai r at thc bottom of the next vertical passage into which the material is fed, substantially as described.

l2. rIhe combination,with the housing, suitable air-suction and feeding mechanisms, and a series of vertical partial partitions projecting from the bottom oi' the machine toward the top within the housing, of a series of depending partial partitions arranged intermediate to the upwardly-projecting partitions' the purposes set forth.

14. The combination, with the recessed wall of the first upward air-passage of the series of air-passages7 of arapidly-rotating scatteringroller set partially in the recess of said wall, anda chute for guiding the material 11pon the upper and exposed surface of said roller, substantially as described, and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I aflix mysignature in presence of two witnesses.

DELOS CAR-SKADEN.

XVitnesses:

M. E. DAYTON, Omvnn E. PAGIN. 

